The Long Island road to the governor's mansion

Daily Point

About last night

Long Island got a lot of shoutouts from Gov. Kathy Hochul and Rep. Lee Zeldin on Tuesday in what is set to be the only debate of their gubernatorial contest, which some polling indicates could be a single-digit race.

There was the back-and-forth about the Long Island Expressway, which Zeldin noted for its potholes while Hochul highlighted the state’s pothole-filling work.

“People love the LIE now,” the Buffalo Democrat said, in a very debatable statement.

She noted that she’d just been “out there,” and also highlighted the Island as a place for which there could be “supply chain opportunities” coming from the deal to lure Micron Technology investment to the Syracuse area.

Zeldin, a Shirley Republican, made reference to the “East End of Long Island” and various local triumphs, like working to combat the MS-13 gang on LI, and pushing for an electron-ion collider at Brookhaven National Lab.

The paeans to Nassau and Suffolk are unsurprising given how large the two counties loom in their actual share of the gubernatorial vote. In the past three contests for governor, the Long Island vote total has been around 16% or 17% of the state’s turnout. Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo won the Island in each of those contests, though by a much smaller margin in 2014, when he lost Suffolk County outright.

Hochul may have a relatively more uphill battle on Long Island this time around, given Zeldin’s native status. But it typically would take a significant racking up of the votes on Long Island for a Republican to win statewide. In 1994, for example, when George Pataki upset the incumbent, Mario Cuomo, the Republican won both Nassau and Suffolk, carrying Long Island in general by more than 100,000 votes.

Hochul certainly seems to be paying attention to the region this cycle, whether on the debate stage, in her travels, or through a certain late $350 million nugget in the state budget known as the Long Island Investment Fund.

— Mark Chiusano @mjchiusano

Talking Point

To vax or not to vax, that was the question

One group with whom Rep. Lee Zeldin may have scored significant points in Tuesday night’s debate: parents who oppose vaccination requirements.

“Let me be clear to all of the parents who are out there,” Zeldin said. “I will not mandate COVID vaccines for your kids ever.”

Political candidates and parents who oppose the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for children planned a news conference for Wednesday to demand Hochul’s position on the issue. But Hochul preempted that by also providing her take Tuesday night.

“We’re not talking about mandating a vaccine for children in school at this time, but I’m encouraging it. Highly, highly encouraging it,” Hochul said, noting that the State Legislature would make the decision for next year’s school year.

Zeldin noted that he also opposed the mandates for SUNY and CUNY students — and for adults.

“I do not support COVID vaccine mandates in any way, shape or form,” Zeldin said.

Even more controversially, he did not say he supported the existing polio vaccine requirements for children to attend school.

“I’m not proposing any new changes,” Zeldin said.

But he cited a familiar criticism used by those who oppose a COVID vaccine mandate.

“The COVID vaccine mandate is different than the polio vaccine mandate,” he said. “The COVID vaccine changed the definition of a vaccine. You could just call it a COVID shot. It’s a form of treatment. But it doesn’t prevent you from getting it. And the state hasn’t recognized natural immunity. Why not? It should.”

Those who oppose vaccine mandates, or vaccines themselves, took to Facebook and Twitter with a clear message.

“Kathy Hochul made it clear C19 vax mandates (kids et al) are in her back pocket,” wrote Blue Point activist Rita Palma, who fights vaccine requirements and in the past helped parents obtain religious exemptions for their children. “Vote Zeldin or they will be a reality.”

But a very different message emerged for Hochul supporters like Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

“Lee Zeldin was just asked in the debate whether the *POLIO* vaccine should continue to be mandatory. He refused to answer whether or not he supports this,” Levine tweeted. “Let that sink in.”

— Randi F. Marshall @RandiMarshall

Pencil Point

A good day

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Final Point

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